Giro di Lombardia

A shift in date and an alteration to its title may have troubled those with a sense of cycling’s traditions, but in sporting terms, the Tour of Lombardy – or Il Lombardia, as it is now known – has shown no signs of suffering from the changes introduced last year, and an exceedingly strong field will line up in Bergamo on Sunday.

The favourite is perhaps Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), who believed he had drawn a line under his status as cycling’s nearly man by claiming his first Monument victory at Il Lombardia twelve months ago.

As the Florence Worlds showed, however, Rodriguez seems consigned to unlimited heartbreak on the grandest of stages, but he is determined to draw some consolation in Lombardy, not least because finishing first or second will give him a third WorldTour title should Chris Froome (Sky) fail to land any points.